Movie, Movie, Movie!

Haha, this weekend I end up watching three different movies, one at a day, 2 totally unintentional while the remaining 1 I intended to watch it.

Friday, I went to watch Ong Bak 2, a Thai action movie. My verdict? Avoid it at all mean unless you are into mindless fighting movie where the protagonist fought NON STOP throughout the movie. I mean, come on, at least put in some nice storyline to get the movie going, but no, they just kept him fighting and fighting. So boring. And to make it worst, in the final battle where the protagonist kept throwing punches and kicks to survive only to die in the end. I mean, if I were to know that I can't escape death at the end, I won't bother wasting my last remaining energy fighting. I would rather just kill myself to save me the torture I were to get.


Then, on Valentine's night, I went out with my friends for dinner. Haha, luckily, I did not spend the day alone sulking at my room. After dinner, we went to Gurney Plaza to watch Slumdog Millionaire. Wow, there were a lot of couples watching movies that night. Anyhow, the movie itself was AWESOME. It was one of the nicest movie I had seen this year. It's really heart-wrenching seeing what the kids from the slums in India have to do to keep living. Besides the horrible living condition, they have to brave a cruel world in order to survive.


I feel that the movie did a great job in showing us the true side of India, one that we won't be able to see in any Bollywood movies. A side of India being haunted by poverty and criminals. There's one scene in the movie where the a mob boss of sort blinded a little kid who can sing well because a blind singer can earn double. Yet, the movie has its humour and romantic moments, earning itself the brand "feel good" movie.

And in the final scene where the main characters went singing and dancing, I found myself laughing at the jab the director was making to the Bollywood movies. As most people know that songs and dances are a must in any Bollywood movies, the director purposely inserted that last scene as if making a mockery. Anyhow, this movie is a must-watch and I have the feeling it's gonna win big in the upcoming Oscars.


And speaking of Oscars, today I watched another Oscars-nominated movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. While a lot of my friends were raving about the movie, I myself find it's just a good movie, nothing extraordinary about it. OK, the premise itself, about a man who aged backwards, is extremely bizarre and weird, but, other than that, it's just a weird love story.

OK, it has its fine moments where I find it touching and nice. And the many beautiful shots the movie had like the sunrise, the shots around the hotel, etc. And I totally understand what Tilda Swinton's character, Elizabeth Abbott said:

                   "I kept waiting, thinking I would
                 do something to change my
                 circumstance... Do something...
                 But I never did... It's an awful
                 waste, you can never get it
                 back... wasted time..."

. And the "Did I ever tell you that I was strike by lightning 7 times" moments where a brief clip of a man being hit by lightning in a different way each time he said it is so funny.

But emotionally, I did not invest myself inside the movie. Unlike my two friends who I watched it with, I did not cry. No, it's NOT because that my human feeling is UNDERDEVELOPED, as my stupid and shallow friend had written in her blog. I'm perfectly capable to feel and be touched emotionally, as proven when I watched the Japanese drama series, 'One Litres Of Tears'. Somehow, I just don't really connect with the story.

you know, I was watching the movie when I heard sniffing next to me. I turned around and I saw her taking out a tissue to dry her eyes. Then, next thing I know, my friend sitting next to her asked for a tissue from her. I was like, wow, is it really THAT touching?

Overall, Benjamin Button is nice, but I just prefer Slumdog Millionaire. In fact, I'm rooting for it to win the Oscars. How nice it is, staying in Penang where I can watch movies that Ipoh simply don't have (except pirated!).